Pensions: about as easy to understand as the theory of relativity. Successive governments have pledged to simplify and clarify the UK pensions system. Each one has failed. If anything, the financial ins and outs of our retirement have become ever more complex.
Now the powers that be have made changes to the state pension. If, as is likely, the new rules pass people by, many risk missing out altogether.
So, what’s happening? In a nutshell, ministers have increased the number of years of national insurance contributions needed to qualify for a full state pension. From April this year, individuals are required to have 35 years of national insurance payments under their belts, five years more than the previous system. Those with less than ten years of contributions will receive no state pension at all.
It’s all part of what the Government says is a replacement for a ‘mindblowingly complicated’ existing regime.
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